San Jose @ RSL [R]

Aerick · 05-01-2005, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpiffCoug

I wasn't impressed by O'Brien when he came in. I didn't like him in the reserve game and he only confirmed my suspicions yesterday. I would have liked to have seen someone else come in, but not sure who.

Every time I've seen O'Brien play I've had the same impression. I would have liked to have had Selolwane in instead, but of course, that's not my call. 😉

clarette · 05-01-2005, 05:16 PM

Nessie's thoughts:

* We seem hesitant to put numbers forward on the attack. Not sure if it's because of the defensive personnel that may have needed a bit more protecting, but it was kind of frustrating to watch. There were at least a handful of times when someone had the ball and could have gone forward quickly, but instead settled the ball and slowed things down.
* What did Behncke eat for breakfast? That huge tackle in the first half just before our second goal was killer. And Nelly looked fairly comfortable as well on the left side. Much better than their last performances.
* Jason Kreis rules. He worked so hard and finally got his reward, even if we gave up a silly, silly goal in the second half.

bordelais7 · 05-01-2005, 08:32 PM

- Crowd was awesome. I was there with two first-timers, and they loved it.
- Game was very entertaining. RSL played with more energy than I've seen so far.
- Dribbling and holding the ball = much improved
- Passing was ok. Chemistry is coming along, but still needs quite a bit of improvement.
- Why are we allowing opposing teams to bring the ball unobstructed from about midfield to the top of the box? Where's the pressure?
- I didn't really like the subs. O'brien has done nothing so far, and I would have liked to have seen an F subbed in at the end (maybe Cila for Kreis?)

Players of note:

DJ - The anti-Barthez. The guy is soooo quick and makes some amazing saves, but I just wish he'd come off his line a little more often. That shot by Cerritos(?) in the opening minutes that went off the post was off of a long ball into the box that DJ should have totally had. But 13 saves? Wow.

Pierce - I love you

Behncke - some gutsy tackles. In fact, just about everyone on the backline had some great tackles. Akwari seemed the most tentative out there.

Kamler - MUCH better possession than in previous games.

Tiger - Tough, strong, talented, very entertaining. Very "ole" worthy. Crosses were terrible and he needs to pass just a tad more often, but he's fun to watch.

Williams - looked more comfortable, still waiting for some magical playmaking

Kreis - Cool, calm professional. We may need to start planning his 100th goal celebration earlier than we thought.

Mathis - My man of the match. Very timely pass to set up Kreis' second. Nice ball in on the play that resulted in a penalty (almost a carbon copy of Dunseth's goal 2 weeks ago). He did whiff on one pass, and sometimes he tries to be a little too clever, but his one-touches were creating opportunities left and right. And standing up to the ref after that bogus call on Rusty was awesome. My wife and I, watching the replay on the stadium big-screen, both were under the impression that he (Rusty) was spit on in addition to being yelled at. Did anyone else notice that, or were we just imagining that?

Officiating - Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Is MLS serious? I mean, really? Refs miss calls, but this was ridiculous. Blatant off-sides not called, blatant diving going unpunished on multiple occasions, and complete lack of consistency in calling holding/pushing. They sure kept me on my toes.

Blondie · 05-01-2005, 09:17 PM

Does any one know how to check to see if this is a league record for one game? He is facing lots of shots.

Loyal1 · 05-01-2005, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clarette

* We seem hesitant to put numbers forward on the attack. Not sure if it's because of the defensive personnel that may have needed a bit more protecting, but it was kind of frustrating to watch. There were at least a handful of times when someone had the ball and could have gone forward quickly, but instead settled the ball and slowed things down.

I felt this too.

Often it seemed like Tiger & Jason v. too many white shirts in the second half.

At half time we were saying "now they attack in front of us". But they didn't.

bordelais7 · 05-01-2005, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blondie

Does any one know how to check to see if this is a league record for one game? He is facing lots of shots.

http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/history/records.jsp?type=league&content=hilo

Looks like 15 is the record...

Rover · 05-01-2005, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bordelais7

- Crowd was awesome. I was there with two first-timers, and they loved it.
- Game was very entertaining. RSL played with more energy than I've seen so far.
- Dribbling and holding the ball = much improved
- Passing was ok. Chemistry is coming along, but still needs quite a bit of improvement.
- Why are we allowing opposing teams to bring the ball unobstructed from about midfield to the top of the box? Where's the pressure?
- I didn't really like the subs. O'brien has done nothing so far, and I would have liked to have seen an F subbed in at the end (maybe Cila for Kreis?)

Players of note:

DJ - The anti-Barthez. The guy is soooo quick and makes some amazing saves, but I just wish he'd come off his line a little more often. That shot by Cerritos(?) in the opening minutes that went off the post was off of a long ball into the box that DJ should have totally had. But 13 saves? Wow.

Pierce - I love you

Behncke - some gutsy tackles. In fact, just about everyone on the backline had some great tackles. Akwari seemed the most tentative out there.

Kamler - MUCH better possession than in previous games.

Tiger - Tough, strong, talented, very entertaining. Very "ole" worthy. Crosses were terrible and he needs to pass just a tad more often, but he's fun to watch.

Williams - looked more comfortable, still waiting for some magical playmaking

Kreis - Cool, calm professional. We may need to start planning his 100th goal celebration earlier than we thought.

Mathis - My man of the match. Very timely pass to set up Kreis' second. Nice ball in on the play that resulted in a penalty (almost a carbon copy of Dunseth's goal 2 weeks ago). He did whiff on one pass, and sometimes he tries to be a little too clever, but his one-touches were creating opportunities left and right. And standing up to the ref after that bogus call on Rusty was awesome. My wife and I, watching the replay on the stadium big-screen, both were under the impression that he (Rusty) was spit on in addition to being yelled at. Did anyone else notice that, or were we just imagining that?

Officiating - Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Is MLS serious? I mean, really? Refs miss calls, but this was ridiculous. Blatant off-sides not called, blatant diving going unpunished on multiple occasions, and complete lack of consistency in calling holding/pushing. They sure kept me on my toes.

No need for my analysis--you just posted it, with some nice inside-the-stadium observations. I had Kreis as MOTM but I wouldn't argue with Countess, Pierce, or Mathis for the honor.

with each game we're getting closer and closer to something special. I can begin to see the shape and character of this team. With some improved midfield play and better chemistry (from more minutes together in actual games) we have the makings of a playoff team. I wrote that kind of talk off to bravado when I heard it before the season. We're still not there yet, but for the first time I see the right things coming together.

OBTW, anybody still question Countess as our keeper? I seem to remember some skepticism when we picked him up in the expansion draft. How 'bout now?

Aerick · 05-01-2005, 09:32 PM

That's cool! Good ol' Tony Meola! Looks like Countess will be tied for 3rd on that list.

bordelais7 · 05-01-2005, 09:37 PM

I'm not sure if "Most Saves" is an honor we really want, but yeah...Delvin got skillz.

clarette · 05-01-2005, 09:45 PM

OMG, I forgot to mention the funniest part of the game: when my dad started hollering "Andy Wynalda" whenever Williams would walk or stand instead of moving off the ball.

Not so much funny at the time when I was embarrassed, but funny in retrospect.

I think we should start a Rusty Pierce for Striker campaign. I know I'd like to see him turned loose against some of those *bleeeeeep* like Dayak and Wah-bel.